Fretting the fret board extension

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watergunn
Posts: 277
Joined: Fri Nov 25, 2011 10:20 am
Location: Cumming, GA

Fretting the fret board extension

Post by watergunn »

Hi All.

Just wondering how some of you handle the fret board extension regarding when you install the frets?

Do you wait until you have glued in the neck or do you do it before neck installation?

I am on number 39 and was just curious how others did it

Thanks

Rick Gunn
tippie53
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Location: Hegins, Pa
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Re: Fretting the fret board extension

Post by tippie53 »

I have started to finish the fretting on the guitar. I have found I can address the fretboard making it perfect so the action is as good as I can make if .
I use a clamp to address the frets on the extension and tap them in on the neck
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
MaineGeezer
Posts: 1711
Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Fretting the fret board extension

Post by MaineGeezer »

For my first two, I put in all the frets before installing the neck on the guitar. With this third one I'm doing, I had to pull the frets the fingerboard extension because they were causing a downward curve in the extension that was interfering with fitting the neck. I'll put them back in after the neck is installed.
I'm a bit unsure how I'll put them in. When I first did it, I used a radiused Delrin caul and pressed them in, but I can't do that now.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
tippie53
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Re: Fretting the fret board extension

Post by tippie53 »

What I do is use a c clamp and I can press them in.
Not that hard . I put 2 in at a time using glue in the slots for lube they slip in easy and I work them in one side to another.
Once I am on the heel I just tap them in with a small cobblers chasing hammer
John Hall
Blues Creek Guitars Inc
Authorized CF Martin Repair Center
president of Association of Stringed Instrument Artisans
http://www.bluescreekguitars.com
twenty2late
Posts: 81
Joined: Sat May 28, 2016 8:48 am
Location: Savannah, GA

Re: Fretting the fret board extension

Post by twenty2late »

John,
I'm at a decision point on this exact subject. My first 2, I put the frets in following your method on YouTube, but I somehow missed the quick tip on flattening the fingerboards with clamps. Have you ever accidentally cracked a fingerboard doing that? I put too much work into making them, and I'm still a little uneasy about fretting after installing the neck even though I see the benefits.

V/R
Ken
MaineGeezer
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Joined: Wed Aug 13, 2014 12:14 pm

Re: Fretting the fret board extension

Post by MaineGeezer »

It may be worth noting that John "Blues Creek Guitars" sells fretwire of various tang thicknesses. When the time comes to replace the frets on the fingerboard extension, I'll use a fret with a thinner tang than I used originally. (Assuming the fret profile is the same as the frets I used originally....) That should eliminate, or at least greatly reduce, the problem of the extension curving downward because of the fret pressure.

Aside from that, a thinner tang will make installation easier.
Don't believe everything you know.
Anything is possible if you don't know what you are talking about.
When things are bad, try not to make them any worse, because it is quite likely they are bad enough already. - French Foreign Legion
Diane Kauffmds
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Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 8:13 pm

Re: Fretting the fret board extension

Post by Diane Kauffmds »

I've fretted both ways, both before installing the neck on the guitar, and after. I've found that although I've leveled the fretboard after installing it on the neck, but before setting the neck, I always need to tweak it once installed on the guitar. So, I install the fretboard on the uninstalled neck and I level it. I install the neck and level the board again, on the guitar. Then I fret.

I've found I have fewer problems this way.
Diane Kauffmann
Country Roads Guitars
countryroadsguitars@gmail.com
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